Machine for making tuft-molds or buttons.



No. 669,997. Patented Mar. I9, 190i.

r. w. L'UDINGTON. MACI'HNE FOR MAKING. TUFT HOLDS 0B BUTTONS.

. (Application filed Kay 11. 1900.)

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r. w. Lumuemn. MACHINE FOR MAKING TUFT HOLDS 0B BUTTONS;

(Application filed May 11, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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fidwv No. 669,997. Patented Mar. l9, l9 0l.

' F. W. LUDINGTON.

MACHINE FOR MAKING TuFT-NOLDs 0R BUTTONS.

(Application filed May 11, 1900.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Patented Mar. l9, 190i.

F. W. LUDINGTON.

MAGHlNE FOR MAKING TUFT HOLDS 0B BUTTONS.

(Application med May 11. 19oo. (Io Ilodel.) s sheetssheet 4.

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Nu. 669,997. Patented Mar. 19, I901. F. W. LUDINGTON. MACHINE FOR MAKINGT-UFT HOLDS 0R BUTTONS.

(Application filed May 11. 1900.)

kNo. Model.)

NITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

FREDERICK W. LUDINGTON, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE L. C.WHITE 00., OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING TUFT-MOLDS OR BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,997. dated March19, 1901.

Application filed May 11, 1900. Serial No. 16,339. this model.)

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. LUDING- TON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, whose residence and post-office address is 461 North Mainstreet, Waterbury, New Haven county, State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Machines for MakingTuft-Molds orButtons,fullydescribed and represented in the following specificationand the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to an improved machine in which a clothblank may be fed to a die and assembled with metallic shells forming thefront and back of a button and the whole secured together to form atuft-mold or complete button. The present machine is of that class inwhich a number of dies are fixed upon a dial-plate and the dies shiftedinto positions in which successively each die receives the front or rearshell of a button, the fabric blank is forced into the die, the oppositepart of the button placed in the die, and the whole pressed together,with the edges of the fabric turned in wardly. The machine may be usedfor making wire-eye buttons or tuft-molds, the back in one case beingprovided with a Wire eye and in the other formed as an annular collet.

The invention provides for the use of rectangular blanks for the fabriccovering cut from the end of a ribbon in the machine upon a seatsustained over the path of the dies.

The invention is illusirated in connection with a tuft-mold machinewhich is constructed with a dial-plate carrying a series of dies andincludes means for feeding the collets successively to the dies and forpressing the blanks for the fabric coverings into the collets and forthen forcing a wad within the covering and folding the corners of thecovering upon the flat surface of the wad. The wad and collet, providedwith a tuft, form a tuftnnold which is an article of manufacture andsale and is made up in connection with shells and front coverings ofvarious kinds to form upholsterers tufting-buttons. The feeding devicesshown in the drawings are adapted for use with ribbons of differentwidths and are adjustable to feed the center of the ribbon over thecenter of the die. In practice I provide a recessed seat above the die,with one side of the recess open to receive the end of the ribbon, andform a circular aperture through the seat, by which the corners of theblank are turned upwardly when a punch forces the blank through the seatinto the die. The bottom of the seat is formed of a thin plate of steel,and a shear-blade is arranged to move in contact with the edge of theseat, so as to sever the blank from the rib bon when the end of theribbon is fed into the seat. The machineisillustrated witha punclr slidecarrying the tools adapted to cooperate with the dies in theirsuccessive positions; but the means for feeding the collets and wads tothe dies are only illustrated diagrammatically, as their nature andoperation are fully known and form no part of the present invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine with aportion in vertical section where hatched, the gearing connecting thecam-shaft with the ratchet-wheel of the dial-plate being omitted. Fig. 2is a plan of the machine without the standard. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the dial-plateand feeding appliances. Fig. 5 is a plan enlarged of the feeding andshearing appliances. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the feedingappliances; Fig. 7, a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5; Fig.8, a vertical section of the seat and the die for receiving the blanktherefrom. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the shearing device; Fig. 10,the punch for folding the corners of the blank upon the wad in the die;Fig. 11, the die containing the wad, collet, and blank; Fig. 12, theadjacent parts of the punch and die with the corners of the blank foldedupon the wad. Fig. 13 is a plan, and Fig. 14 a section, of the collet.Figs. 15 and 16 are a plan and edge view of the wad; Fig. 17, a plan ofthe blank with the adjacent ribbon shown in dotted lines, and Fig. 18 isa perspective view of the completed tuftmold. Fig. 19 is a verticalsection of the seat (2 and adjacent part of the bed. Fig. 20 is anelevation, and Fig. 21 a plan, of the parts arranged for making completebuttons. Fig. 22 is a section of the parts, including the chute,adjacent to the seat for the square blank with the punch in readiness toforce a shell, with the blank, into the die. Fig. 23 shows the die andthe adjacent parts upon a larger scale with the shell and blank forcedinto the die.

a designates the base-frame, carrying the horizontal dial-plate 7),containing five dies of the character shown in Figs. 8 and 11, one ofthe dies being exposed in Fig. 1 within the dial-plate.

cl is a driving-shaft sustained in bearings at the rear of thebase-frame, with the driving-pulley upon one end.

1 is a punch-slide mounted in a standard 2 and actuated by lever 3 and acam 4: upon the driving-shaft.

5 is a punch-holder carrying the tools 6 7 8 9 for cooperating with thedies in four positions, the finished product being discharged from thedie in transit to the final position.

When the machine is used for making tuftmolds, the die (when in theposition marked 0 in Fig. 2) receives a collet 10 from a chute 11, andthe intermittent rotation of the dial brings the die, with such collet,into the position c beneath the seat e, containing the square blank 2,of fabric. After receiving the blank the die is moved to the position 0where it receives the wad 12 from a chute 13, then to the position 0where the corners of the blank are turned down upon the wad, and then tothe position 0 The finished tuft-mold is discharged from the die by theinclined cam 14 in its transit to the fifth position c When the machineis used for making complete buttons, the front shell, as shown in Fig.22, is fed to the seat 6 by chute 40 above the square .blank, and theshell and blank are forced into the die together, as shown in Fig. 23.The other half of the shell is supplied to the die by the chute 13 andforced upon the front shell in the die 0 The two parts of the button areclosed or secured together in the position 0 and the finished productdischarged in transit to the position 0 The ribbon 18 to form the squareblanks is supported by a reciprocating feed-slide 17, Figs. 2 to 5, upona feed-bed 16,in line with the seat e, and such slide carries a pivoteddog f, adapted to bite the ribbon 18 when tipped toward the same. Theribbon is fed to the slide from a spool to. The seat 6 is surroundedupon three sides by a frame h, forming walls, which inclose a recessinto which the end of the ribbon is fed, and a guide 6 is shown in Figs.2 and 5 upon the slide 17 to hold the ribbon in line with the recess ofthe seat as the ribbon is fed forwardly. Such guide is formed with apassage upon the under side of the same width as the ribbon and wouldnecessarily be changed to operate with a ribbon of greater or lesswidth. Studs from the feed-slide project through slots 9 at the rear ofthe bed and grasp the ends of a spring g, which presses upon the outerside of the bed and produces a frictional resistance to the movement ofthe slide. A shaft 19, journaled in the rear of the feedbed, isoscillated by a crank 20 and cam 21 and has a slotted arm 22, connectedby link 23 with an armf upon the upper end of the dog f. A spring 20,attached to the arm 20, (see Fig. 2,) serves to normally retract theslide 17. A pin 6 upon the feed -slide permits a slight backwardmovement of the arm f when the link 23 is moved backwardly to releasethe ribbon, and the motion of the link thereafter operates to draw theslide backward, while the forward motion of the link under theresistance of the spring g first tips the dog against the ribbon andthen draws the slide 17 forward to feed the ribbon into the recess ofthe seat 6. A shear-blade 7c severs the ribbon at the edge of the seat,and springs or: are sunk in a projection at the end of the bed 16, asshown in Figs. 5 and 19, to lift the end of the ribbon after it ispressed downward by each movement of the shear-blade. By cutting theribbon against the edge of the seat I avoid curling or twisting thesevered portion which forms the square blank, as the blank is supportedupon the flat surface of the seat, while the body of the ribbon ispushed downward obliquely by the descent of the shear-blade. Thepressing downward of the ribbon necessitates the springs as or analogousmeans to lift the end of the ribbon again above the level of the seat,so that when the ribbon is fed forwardly it may enter the recess of theseat within the frame 72,. (See Fig. 19.) The plate in the bottom of therecess is formed with central aperture and is secured by means of screwsto be readily detachable, and the frame h,surrounding the seat, issecured detachably upon an arm 16, bolted to the bed 16, so that seatsof different dimensions may be applied to the feeding device to formblanks of different sizes with ribbons of different widths. A narrowribbon is indicated by the dotted lines 18 in Fig. 5, and to use a Widerribbon and bring the center of the same over the die (whose position isunchanging) the feeding-bed 16 is movable laterally in the direction ofthe arrow 1 which is permitted by means of the bolting-slotsj in thefoot of the bed. The slotted arm 22 is adjustable at the same time uponthe end of the shaft 19 bya split clamping-hub 22, Figs. 5 and 6. Theframe for a larger seat is indicated by the dotted lines h in Fig. 5,which would be secured upon the arm 16 and the latter moved a little tothe left, as required. A shear-blade 7c is mounted upon a shaft 24 tomove past the outer edge of the seat and a spring 25, Fig. 9, isarranged in contact with the farther end of the shaft to press the bladeconstantly toward the seat. The shaft is oscillated by an arm 26 and alink 26, carrying a roll 27, which is fitted to a cam 28 upon the shaftd. To hold the ribbon from retraction when the feed-slide is drawnbackwardly by the link 23, a clamping-finger Z is arranged to press uponthe bed adjacent to the seat (2 and is actuated by a shaft 1 andlever-arm 29, carrying a roll30, in contact with a cam 31 upon the shaftd. A spring 29' overbalances the finger Z and lifts the same, when theroll 30 falls into a notch upon the cam 31.- Fig. 9 shows the fingerpressed upon the ribbon and the shears moved down ward to severit. Theslot in the arm 22 varies the throw of the link 23 to give the requiredmovement to the ribbon, and when the latter is carried into the seat 6the clamping-cam 31 presses the finger 1 upon the ribbon and holds itwhile the shearblade is operated by the cam 28 and the feeding-slide andwhile the dog f is retracted by the link 23.

Any ordinary mechanism may be used for intermittently rotating thedial-plate as is common in button-machines, Figs. 1 and 2 showing atrain of gears 32 for rotating a crank 33 into radial slots 34 upon afeedwheel 35, which is arranged under the baseframe a and connected withthe dial-plate by spindle 36. A pawl 37 is shown to fit in notches 38 inthe dial-plate, and the crank and pawl would be actuated in the ordinarymanner to turn the dies into the successive positions 0 to 0 inclusive.

The die-post m is provided, as shown in Figs. 8 and 11, with a sleeve11., fitted about the top of the same and sustained elastically byspring 0. The dies are fixed equidistant within the dial-plate, and acover 39 upon the top of the dial-plate is provided to hold the sleevesn at a fixed level by contact with flanges it upon the sleeves. The topsof the posts and the cover are substantially in a line, so that when thesleeves are depressed the tuft-molds or buttons may be swept laterallyfrom the top of the post while the dialplate is rotating, ashereinafter,described. The punches for making tuft-molds consist of astraight punch 6 to force the collets from the chute 11 into the die,which places the collet upon the top of the post within the sleeve, asshown in Fig. 8, in readiness'to receive the fabric blank. The punch 7to feed the fabric into the collet is provided, shown in Fig. 8, with aboss 8 to form the tuft and a needle-point 15 upon the end of the bossto penetrate the fabric and hold it central while the punch carries itthrough the aperture in the bottom of the seat 6. A

punch 8 is employed to transfer the wads 12 from the chute 13 into thedie, which inserts it within the tufted fabric, as shown in Fig. 9, withthe corners of the blank projecting upwardly around the edges of thewad. The

punch to turn the corners of the blank in-.

wardly upon the upper side of the wad is shown in Fig. 10 and consistsof the stem 19, having the sleeve 9 upon its lower end sustainedelastically by spring q. The sleeve is retained upon the stem by pin*1", and the inner corner of the sleeve, at the bottom, is bev eled toturn the corners of the blank inwardly. The operation of this punch withthe die is shown in Fig. 12, the spring 19 being made much stronger thanthe spring 0, so that the sleeve 72 is forced downwardly while thesleeve 9 turns the corners of the blank inwardly; but when the uppersleeve contacts with the corner of the collet, as shown in Fig. 12, thepunch-stem 19 moves downwardly through the sleeve 9 and presses thecorners of the fabric close upon the wad. The tuftmold is thus finishedand is discharged by the cam 14, which has a downwardly-inclined face itto press the sleeve 02. downwardly to expose the tuft-mold and a faceset obliquely to the movement of the dies, so as to force the tuftmoldlaterally from the top of the post in its movement to the position 0Figs. 20 to 23, inclusive, show the arrangement of the parts for makingfinished buttons, a chute 40 being arranged above the seat 6 to deliverthe front shell 39 of the button thereto. In practice the chute is,arranged with jaws to retain the shell until forced downward by thepunch. The descent of the punch 7 thuscarries the shell downward uponthe blank and forces it, with the blank, into the die, as shown in Fig.23. The chute 13 serves to feed the back shell of the button into thedie in the position 0 so that the two parts may be closed together inthe position 0 and the finished button discharged in transit to theposition 0. A funnel 'u is shown in Fig. 2 held adjacent to the marginof the dial-plate to receive the tuft-molds or buttons as they aredischarged, with tube 1; to lead them into a receptacle. It will beobserved that this means for discharging the finished button or tuftmoldfrom the die differs from all others in that the article is dischargedfrom the die while the die is in motion or in transit from thepositionin which the button or tuft-mold was finished. In such anoperation the cam or agent which pushes the finished article from thedie may be stationary, as in the case of the cam 14, (see Fig. 2,) andthe discharge of the button is thus effected by the sliding of thelatter upon the inclined surface of the cam, which presses the buttonlaterally from the die toward the receiving-funnel '1). Such aconstruction obviates the necessity of any moving mechanism to removethe button from the die, but makes the cam entirely self-acting. Theproper operation of the cam to throw the button from the die to thefunnel v implies a suitable rapidity of movement in the button duringits transit past the cam to impel it to the funnel after it has left thedie, which gives it its initial momentum. It also implies a movement insome part of the die to release the button from the lateral walls of thedie, so that it may be pushed laterally by the cam. The movement whichfreesthe button from the dieis effected in the construction shown by thedepression of the sleeve 92 by the downwardly-inclined face it of thecam. In the present drawings the tuftmold or button is finished in theposition designated c and it is in the movement from c to c that the button-mold is discharged; but in the making of a button or button-moldthat required any additional operation the article would be finished inthe position designated 0 and discharged in its movement to the positiondesignated 0.

From the above description it will be seen that my machine differs invarious respects from other machines which have been devised forautomatically assembling the parts of a tuft-mold or button, especiallyin the provision of a stationary seat above the path of the dies toreceive the end of a ribbon and sup port the same while a blank is cuttherefrom.

Such seat obviates the twisting and distortion of the blank when outfrom the ribbon, while the walls of the seat formed by the frame Itserve to hold it exactly central over the die when the die is movedthereunder. To prevent the blank from drawing unequally through theaperture in the seat, I provide the sharp needlepoint i upon thepunch,which carriesthe blankdownwardlyinto the die,and the blank is thusheld central and delivered within the die,with the corners projectingupward equally, as is shown in Fig. 11 and as is required to fold themequally over the wad, as shown in Fig.18. I have made specific claims tothe devices which I employ for cutting the fabric blanks from the end ofa ribbon; but the general construction and arrangement of the machine isindependent of the devices for thus forming the blanks,-and the otherfeatures of the machine may therefore be used with round blanks placedin the dies by any means whatever.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimedherein is 1. In a machine for making buttons or tuftmolds, thecombination, with a moving dialplate and the die carried thereby forreceiving the fabric blank, of a seat sustained above the path of thedie, to support a fabric blank, and provided with an aperture forpassing the blank downward to the die, substantially as herein setforth.

2. In a machine for making buttons or tuftmolds, the combination, with amoving dialplate and the die carried thereby for receiving the fabricblank, of a recessed or walled seat arranged above the path of the diefor receiving a square blank, means for feeding the end of a ribbon intothe recess of such seat, and means for cutting off the ribbon whileinclosed by the walls of the seat to form such square blank,substantially as herein set forth.

3. In a machine for making buttons or tuftmolds, the combination, with amoving dialplate and the die carried thereby for receiving the fabricblank, of a recessed or walled seat arranged above the path of such diewith central aperture to permit the passage of the blank into the die,means' for feeding the end of a ribbon into such wa'lled seat over theaperture, means for cutting off the ribbon while inclosed by the Wallsof the seat to form such square blank, and a punch to force the blankthrough such aperture into the die.

4. In a machine for making buttons or tuftmolds, the combination, with adial-plate and the die carried thereby for receiving the fabric blank,ofa recessed or walled seat arranged above such die with central apertureto permit the passage of the blank into the die, means for feeding theend of a ribbon into the recess of the seat over such aperture, and ashear-blad e operated to out against the outer edge of such seat andsever the blank from the ribbon, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In a tuft-mold machine,the combination, with the punch and die forforming the tuft to receive the wad, of a recessed seat, with centralaperture, supported above the path of the die, means for feeding aribbon to the seat, means for severing from the ribbon the portionwithin the seat, and a punch to force the blank into the die, said punchhaving a boss to shape the tuft and a central pointed needle to engagethe material of the blank during the depressing and shaping of theblank.

6. In a tuft-mold machine,the combination, with a dial-plate having adie for receiving the fabric blank, of a seat sustained above the pathof the dies with central aperture to pass the blank into the die, afeeding-slide in line with the seat and a dog carried and moved by theslide for feeding the end of a ribbon into the seat, and a shear-bladeoperated to cut against the outer edge of such seat to sever the blankfrom the ribbon.

7. In a tuft-mold machine,the combination, with a horizontal dial-platehaving a series of dies, of a seat sustained in the path of the dieswith central aperture to pass the covering into the die, a feed-bedsustaining a feeding-slide in line with the seat with a dog for feedinga ribbon into the seat, means for clamping the ribbon upon the end ofthe bed adjacent to the seat during the retraction of the dog, and ashears to sever the blank from the ribbon.

8. In a tuft-mold machine,the combination, with a base-frame carrying ahorizontal dialplate having aseries of dies, of bearings. sustaining adriving-shaft at one side of such dial-plate, a recessed seat sustainedabove the path of the dies with central aperture to pass the fabricblank into the die, a feedingslide in line with the seat with means forfeeding a ribbon into the seat, a shear-blade operated to out againstthe outer edge of such seat, and earns upon the driving-shaft withconnections to operate the feeding device and the shear-blade.

9. .In a tuft-mold machine,the combination, with a horizontal dial-platehaving a series of dies, of a recessed seat sustained above the path ofthe dies, a punch to force a collet into the die in its first position,before it is moved under the seat, a feeding device adapted to feed theend of a ribbon into such seat, means to sever a square blank from theend of the ribbon, a punch 'to force the blank through the seat into thecollet, a punch to force a wad into the tufted blank in the thirdposition of the die, a punch to fold the corners of the blank upon thetop of the wad in the fourth position of the die, and finally, means fordischarging the finished tuft-mold from the die.

10. In'a tuft-mold machine, the combination, with a base-frame carryinga horizontal dial-plate having a series of dies, of bearings sustaininga driving-shaft at the rear of such base-frame, a seat sustained in thepath of the dies with central aperture to pass the fabric blank into thedie, a feed-bed sustaining a feeding-slide in line with the seat and ad-3' ustable laterally to such line, a dog pivoted upon the feed-slide, aclamp to press the rib hon upon the bed during the retraction-of thedog, a sh ear-blade operated to cut against the outer edge of such seat,and cams upon the driving-shaft adapted respectively to reciprocate thefeed-slide by connection with the dog, to press the clamp. upon the bed,and to oscillate the shear-blade against the edge of the seat.

11. In a tuft-mold machine, the combination, with a horizontaldial-plate having a series of dies, of a perforated seat held removablyover the path of the dies, a feed-bed sustaining a feeding-slide in linewith the seat with a dog for feeding a ribbon into the seat, a spindlewith shear-blade to oscillate against the edge of the seat, a spring topress the spindle longitudinally toward the seat, and means forreciprocating the dog, and for oscillating the shear-blade, as and forthe purpose set forth.

12. In a tuft-mold or button machine, the

combination, with a horizontal dial-plate having aseries of dies, ofmeans to feed the button part-s successively to the dies, means forpressing the parts of the button together in a final position of thedies, and a stationary cam operating to sweep the finished articlelaterally from the die while in transit to the succeeding position,substantially as herein set forth.

13. In a tuft-mold or button machine, the combination, with a horizontaldial-plate having a series of dies comprising each a fixed post and aspring-sustained sleeve upon such post, of means to feed the buttonparts successively to the dies, means for pressing the parts of thebutton together in a final position of the dies, and the discharge-caml4 having a downwardly-inclined face and a laterally-inclined face, theformer operated to depress the sleeve while in transit past the cam,

and the latter operated to then sweep the finished article laterallyfrom the post of the die, substantially as herein set forth.

14. In a tuft-mold or button machine, the combination, with a horizontaldial-plate having a series of dies comprising each a fixed post and aspring-sustained sleeve, and having a cover 39 in line with the tops ofthe posts, means to feed the button parts successively to the dies,means for pressing the parts together in a given position of the dies,the cam fixed to the bed of the machine and having thedownwardly-inclined face to adjacent to the cover to depress the sleevessuccessively, and the cam having the laterallyinclined face to sweep thefinished article from the post of the die, while in transit past thecam, substantially as herein set forth.

15. In a tuft-mold machine, the combination, with a horizontaldial-plate having a series of dies, of a recessed or walled seatsustained in the path of the dies with central aperture to pass thefabric blank into the die,a feeding-slide in line with the seat with adog for feeding a ribbon into the seat, means for adjusting thefeeding-slide laterally for tapes of various widths, and a shear-bladeoperated against the edge of the seat-to sever the blank from theribbon.

16. In a tuft-mold machine, the combination, with ahorizontal dial-platehaving a series of dies, of a support for a seat with a seat fixeddetachably thereon above the path of the dies with central aperture topass the blank into the die, a feed-bed sustaining a feeding-slide inline with the seat, with a dog for feeding a ribbon into the seat, andmeans for adjusting the feeding slide laterally whereby the seat and thefeeding-slide may be adapted to operate with ribbons of various widths.

17. In a tuft-mold machine, the combination, with a dial-plate havingaseries of dies, of a recessed seat sustained above the path of the diesand provided with a removable and renewable bottom plate having centralaperture to pass the covering into the die, means operating in line withthe seat for feeding a ribbon into the seat, and a shear-blade operatedagainst the outer edge of such seat to sever the blank from the ribbon.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK W. LUDINGTON.

Witnesses:

E. M. ROBERTS, CHARLES F. DOHERTY.

IIO

